Attacked

Somalis, Syrians flee violence; Iran crackdown deepens

Fifty-five journalists fled their homes in the past year with help from the Committee to Protect Journalists. The most common reason to go into exile was the threat of violence, such as in Somalia and Syria, two of the most deadly countries in the world for the profession. Others fled the threat of prison, especially in Iran, where the government deepened its crackdown ahead of elections. A CPJ special report by Nicole Schilit

Cape Town, South Africa, June 18, 2013--All parties in Zimbabwe's government of national unity must respect the responsibility of journalists to document events and report the views of citizens, especially in the run-up to the country's elections in July, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In four different cases this month, reporters have been attacked apparently in connection with their coverage of the country's two major political parties.

Istanbul, June 17, 2013--Anti-press violence intensified in Istanbul on Sunday as police aggressively sought to obstruct reporters covering demonstrations against the government, according to news reports and CPJ interviews. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities to halt their harassment of the press.

Among the more 200,000 Pakistanis living in London is Altaf Hussain, leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. This powerful political party is widely thought to be behind the murder of reporter Wali Khan Babar, a rising star at Geo TV who was shot dead in Karachi in 2011. His coverage focused on politically sensitive topics such as extortion, targeted killings, electricity thefts, land-grabbing, and riots.

New York, June 13, 2013--At least three Brazilian journalists were detained by military police while covering a protest on Tuesday, with one still in custody, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Brazilian authorities to allow journalists to be able to work freely without fear of harassment.

New York, June 11, 2013--Indian authorities should bring to justice the perpetrators of an attack on three cameramen in Kolkata, capital of eastern West Bengal state, on Friday, in which one reporter was almost burned alive, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Pakistan's general elections in May, though marred by violence that left more than 100 dead, was a reaffirmation of the people's commitment to the democratic process. Voters proved once again that they can make decisions based on their own political interests--and not because of intimidation by those who would perpetrate violence. The media, with their nonstop coverage, arrived as full-fledged partners in the democratic process and were intrinsic to the first civilian transfer of power after the completion of a five-year term by a democratically elected government. Now, the question is: What will come next for the media under Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government?

Journalists are back to work at Uganda's leading privately owned daily, The Monitor, after a 10-day siege of their newsroom by police. But that does not mean it is business as usual for the nation's press. The paper's owners at the Nation Media Group evidently begged and negotiated for its reopening--signaling to other media houses that they should toe the government line or face a similar stranglehold. Although the deliberations were successful in returning the paper to the newsstands, the long-term costs may prove exorbitant.

In Sri Lanka, where there has seldom been good news for the media in recent years, things have taken a further turn for the worse, as well as a turn for the bizarre. With President Mahinda Rajapaksa's government secure in its 2010 electoral mandate, its leaders have made fresh moves to tighten their control of the press. There is a plan afoot to re-criminalize defamation, and legislation has been proposed for a code of ethics that threatens to give the government a legal basis to quash journalism it deems "unethical." All this comes ahead of November's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo, which seems sure to go ahead despite calls for boycotts from several quarters because of the government's poor human rights record.

Istanbul, June 6, 2013--Turkish police have targeted journalists photographing law enforcement clashes with protesters in a series of attacks, detentions, and obstructions documented by the Committee to Protect Journalists.